"Aly, wake up.. you have to wake up. Please open your eyes," a woman with red hair pleaded. Her voice was trembling. Mari's eyes, hollow and sunken, deepened the shadows on her once-beautiful face. Her cold demeanour was now gone, replaced with nothing but concern and worry for her younger brother, who was lying unconscious in the garden.
Nyth appeared by her side and placed her soft hands on Mari's trembling shoulders, trying her best to soothe her sister.
"Mari, you should let him rest. You know we can do nothing to help him," she uttered, sorrow filling her voice. Mari glanced at her sister, then rose to her feet, her figure slowly turning hazy until she eventually disappeared from her sight. Nyth let out a long, troubled sigh, her mind in turmoil, and eventually decided to leave the garden as well. She knew it was best to leave her alone when she was mad.
Dawn crept over the City of Kaelmoor, the city of gardens. The sun shone radiantly in the sky, its warmth bathing the still, quiet city. Kaelmoor was the second-largest city in the Kingdom of Thermora, surpassed only by the royal capital Thaloria. The Kingdom of Thermora was situated in the northwestern side of the Pantherian continent and was one of the continent's most powerful kingdoms, despite its relatively small size. There were many reasons for this, with some scholars attributing it to the abundance of minerals and its fertile soils, while others argue that its true power was due to the country's location near the ocean, allowing it to trade with nations on other continents. Yet what truly set Thermora apart was its dedication to fostering the talents of its Mages as well as advancing the study of Mana. The Kingdom of Thermora was feared for its powerful magic and wizards, as well as its witchers, and was thus left undisturbed by its surrounding powers.
The once-empty streets of Kaelmoor were soon filled with crowds of people, everyone hurrying along quickly. Bakeries and stalls opened their doors to feed the hungry masses. Aly was moving slowly through the streets, every step taken causing him pain. But he was determined to reach his destination; if he couldn't bear this little pain, then what right did he have to live in this world? Aly knew that life was not kind to him, and in the end, all he could do was move forward and try his hardest and reach the garden.
He made his way through the street, various scents assaulting his nose. His stomach grumbled hungrily, but he hastened his pace and kept moving on until eventually, he reached the outskirts of the city. Before him was a small garden filled with white flowers, and the figure of a lonely old woman could be seen carefully attending the flowers. He steadily made his way through the garden of flowers, the fragrance of them aiding in soothing his pain. It was clear to Aly that the flowers growing here had some form of healing properties.
Hearing his footsteps, the old lady slowly turned towards Aly and, upon seeing his current state, she dropped everything she was holding and moved urgently towards him.
"Aly! My gosh, what happened to you, child? "she said with a sense of panic.
"Nothing...nothing at all, Miss Grey," he uttered in pain.
"What bullshit are you saying? I can see that you are injured. By the gods, I can even see the bruises you have through the holes in your shirt! I honestly don't even know how you walked your merry ass over here. Follow me, Child, this old bum will help treat your injuries."
"But Miss Grey, you know I can't affo-
"Hurry up! Surely you are not telling me you are slower than me?" Miss Grey interrupted him mid-sentence. She forced Aly to follow him to a small house near the corner of the garden and made him lie down on the bed. She opened a cabinet filled with medicine and ointments, rummaging through it as she tried to find the special ointment she had made a few weeks ago.
"Hmm, I can't believe I am using this so soon. It took me a while to make it too," She muttered under her breath, not even sparing a glance at Aly, who was now awkwardly staring at her. She moved over to the bed where Aly was lying and pulled his shirt upward, revealing all the bruises he had received last night. She cursed silently in her mind as she saw the ugly sight and wondered who could have done such a thing to a child like Aly.
"Child, this may burn a little bit," her voice was soft. She dipped her fingers in the jar and soon applied the ointment on Aly's injuries, the burning sensation shocking Aly and forcing him to contort in pain. Grace paid no heed to his pain and continued applying her ointment to his bruises. Once she was done, she calmly asked Aly to explain what had happened to him.
"Well, let's just say I had a run-in with Oscar last night. I don't know what happened to us; we used to be good friends," Aly continued explaining, " At this point, I don't even want to stay at the orphanage..." Grace calmly listened to him, a hint of surprise soon appearing on her wrinkled face.
"Wait, did you say Oscar? The boy with Blonde hair and blue eyes?" Grace's eyes squinted as if recollecting something she had heard a while ago.
Aly nodded.
"Well, I advise not doing anything to him. Apparently, a noble decided to adopt him into his household. I think it's a countess..." She said her voice lingered in the air
Aly didn't say anything and only calmly nodded. Shock was clearly evident on his face, but even if he wanted to, he could do nothing to Oscar. And now that he was the child of a noble, any thoughts of revenge quickly left his mind. After all, going after a noble of any kind meant certain death for a commoner like him.
Aly looked at Grace. His thoughts were racing through his mind until an idea popped into his mind.
"Miss Grace.. can I live here for a while?" he asked, a warm smile appearing on his face.
Grace hesitated for a while and eventually replied with a smile on her face.
"Call me Aunt Grace instead, you brat. I am not that old...."
Aly, for the first time in his life, felt like he had found a place where he belonged.